The historical importance of leadership traits. From trait theory to charismatic leadership

Seminar paper from the year 2021 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,3, University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf, course: Intercultural Management and Leadership, language: English, abstract: This paper focusses on the trait approach on leadership, whereby this theory concentrates on the personal traits of leaders. The trait theory was one of the first ones to study leadership. Different developments within the past and present, as well as a future outlook are explained and analysed. The approach developed from the assumption that great leaders are born to the hypothesis that great leaders can be made when there is a need for that. Successful leadership is extended to an interaction between the traits of a leader and the situation itself. Today’s relevant aspects of the theory are the Big Five, Emotional Intelligence and Skills Leadership. In this light, this paper investigates future developments of leadership, focussing on charismatic and visionary leadership. Then, it presents an evaluation of the trait approach, its strengths and weaknesses and the importance of leadership traits for the future.